I wished we were heroes
by Tngld
Summary: They tell about them to the children by the fire. A group of girls who robs on the woods like they are magical creatures. And it all started with...
1. In the dark of the night

"What were you doing?" her father asked when Mary Margaret arrived. She gets close for a kiss before answer.  
"Stealing..." in a blink she have a little purse in her hand. "See? Easy busy" That purse looked like his own, so Leopold put a hand on his pocket to see if the money purse would be there yet. And it was.  
"You are joking, right?"  
"Quite"  
"Mary Margaret..."  
"All right. This is something I picked from Mother Superior. That´s all."  
"Why?"  
"The girls are planning to go away. And I wanted to go with them."  
"My girl... There's no need. You can be with us. I know you and Regina don't go well, but we are family. We must try our best. And not steel from Mother Superior and run away! You must give it back."  
"Can't we talk about that later? And tomorrow I will meet her and apologize and give it back, ok? I'm going to my room now"  
She turned upstairs, ran until her room, closed the door and finished her pack. Living here is not possible anymore. She was a commoner with a terrible step-mother and a dad blind for everything her step-mother did. He probably knew Regina didn't like her, but he try not to see it. As if that way, nothing would happen.  
Belle was running of an arranged married and Ashley from a life of servitude on her own house. Run away is not the solution or how the things should be. They should sit and talk and make things work. However, they are really tired of trying.  
That night, they will start being all by themselves. And the purse she stole from her dad and from Mother Superior will be just the beginning. Tonight, Mary Margaret would meet Belle and Ashley at Belle´s stable, disguise and start their journey.  
Mary Margaret cut her hair really short, like a pixie. Belle by her shoulders. Ashley didn't. They don't have time to convince her now. They just changed to man's clothing, put the cloak on and went away.  
Right to anywhere.

The night in the woods was dark as... it was darker anything they ever behold. But they have to go, and the only way out that village was the woods. And there were no magical light to ease their way. They would only stop briefly when the sun rose, and just after finding a safe place to rest.  
Luckily, that forest was only dark, no roots on the way, apparently no walking trees, and if they could talk, they didn't, what was relieving.  
They did not make long. Ashley was too tired of a day after a day of work to walk. However, Belle could not sleep and was the first waking up just a couple hours later. The woods would not hide them for too long if they were looking after them.

"Now, what we are going to do?" asked Belle "We run, we must not stop at the same place much longer, we have to steal to live - liking or not - and we must move fast, or someone will get us, probably someone related to my dear betrothed"  
"We will be able to set down. Just not now. Some months from now, they will start to get tired, and we will be covered somewhere. No one will ever know who we are." said Mary  
"But we will be 3 girls living alone anywhere. That´s not the usual" said Belle.  
"We make something out, girls. We already done the hardest part, now on is just peace of cake" said Ashley.  
"You can´t be so naive, Ashley. People will not easily take us on their homes. We are going to be thieves. We are in danger because we are girls, and they are in danger because we will steal from them" said Belle.  
"You are right, Belle." said Mary Margaret  
"Am I?"  
"No one will harm us, because we will be too scary for anyone tries anything."

* * *

The first option was staying in the wood. And was what the girls did. Never sleeping on the same place and always going east - the easier direction to keep. Just following the sunrise. It would be just for a few days, but days became months - they realized that by their periods - and they were in the woods still. And, thanks gods, no one found the missing girls. They got so connected with that woods that going out started to freak them out. However, as Belle said once "We not ran away from a prison to be trapped in the woods. Our fears are holding us here, and we don't even realize that! We have to plan our actions from now and get out of here."  
"Ok. First, we get out the forest; second, we find a small place to live, and last, get new identities. We just have to find out a story to cover us." said Mary "There is something in you mind, Belle?"  
"Not yet. But we have time until we find somewhere to live."

They have to keep walking. If they could find the end of the forest... It was harder to get out than to get in. The forest didn't want them to go. All those days they spent there didn't help them to find a way out. Ashley started to get scared, to believe they never could get out. "And if we called Rumpelstiltskin?"  
"Are you out of your mind, Ashley? He is dangerous." said Belle  
"I don't believe we have a choice. If we want to get out of here, let's ask for help and face any consequences"  
"More two days, Ash. Let's try out more. You are town girls, but I can see we are not much further of the end. The forest will let us go and we will not to bind with any deal. Have faith Ash." said Mary. "For everything I've already heard about Rumpelstiltskin, I'm not sure if I can pay his price."  
"Be brave girl. As I know you are. We are living like that for a while. Just be patience for a few days." said Belle. "We are scared too. But we must do the brave thing and go on, follow what we learnt until we find a..."  
"Big chocolate house?" said Ashley  
"It seems a known story..." said Belle.  
"Yeah. I've heard that too. Two brothers are trapped into this house and they are safe because the sister, Gretel, had an idea that took them out. Do you guys want to come in and check it out?"  
"I'm in."  
Ashley looked back to Belle. "You were chosen to be here and look if there is something strange."

They left Belle next a window and really fast, Ashley and Mary tried to find a way in.  
"I don't think there's anyone here... The house is all dark. Do you see anyone inside?"  
Ashley called Mary with her hand. She found an open window. And made a sign to Mary go inside.  
It was dark, but they could see trough it. Everything was made of candy or chocolate and there were cupcakes and lollipops. It seemed so tasty.  
"Let's take some, for later" murmured Ashley. "Just don't eat them now... I don't know why. But we can't eat the candies here"  
Mary nodded. They crossed the main room looking for nothing in particular.  
"Hey... Hey! You two" called Belle. "Come back. I heard something. And if the laws works, we would be in trouble"  
"What did you see?" questioned (?) Ashley. Belle point the answer. A bunch of kids, some guards and an opened litter. A well dressed woman was inside. She was looking to nowhere.  
"We are too visible here. Come over here to hide." murmured Mary to the other girls.  
"Are we going to save them?" enquires Ashley. "We must. They are just children!"  
"We don't know what is happening. We have to investigate" answered Mary.


	2. Hag

The bad thing about start fighting for your own is that you have just a few moments to make choices that will haunt you forever. We decided to investigate, but it was not much to do. There were guards, kids captive and a woman on a litter. I believe that was general agreement that we had to do something. We, Ashley, Belle and I, we tried to do the right thing. I mean, I don't really know if we did something. It was pretty a mess and kids screaming and maybe some blood. We just ran and tried to punch them, I guess.

It was just two guards, but it was two trained guards against three ladies that pretty much had never held any arm on their lives. The closer we got from a knife was a kitchen's one and to kill small animals to eat. Maybe Belle could tell more about the fighting. I bet she can see things clearly even when she is nervous. I can not. I remember the screaming. The hag's, the kid's, mine… I remember looking to Ashley and see her scared. There are days we usually woke up with our screams… Maybe our subconscious remembers the fear and the desperation better.

As not calling Rumpelstiltskin, fighting and everything that came with was a choice. We, at least I, realized that would be like that until we sat at someplace, until our new home be chosen. I spent many days wondering if being a thief, living on the edge of society as an outcast, if sometimes killing people were or not a high price to pay – the funny thing is that I said Rumpelstiltskin would as a high price, we are already paying a price high enough.

Now we are hurt. I have something on my rib, but I did not complain. Thin lines will cover Ash's arms and she has a wound in her forehead. Belle, as me, did not say a thing about her injuries. Furthermore, we started our bad plan of being thieves and had a bunch of kids to send home. Injured kids as ourselves. I am feeling like Robin Hood. May I learn archery, then?

* * *

That was good. God forgives me, but it was. I would never instigate to violence. No! That is not my way of acting. I, Belle, I like to be the calm cold one who always see beyond and can put thing on their places and my… love toward that brutality… I can't figure that out! Ashley badly sleeps while I don't care at all about what happened. I don't know what happened to me, liking violence. It has to be the adrenaline discharge… I can't explain what I felt. It was not about the power of having other ones life in your hand, but maybe it was it too. I just get so thrilled, and the adrenaline… Yeah! That is not good, and I will try to not liking it anymore… We fought – I don't know how – we won – don't know how that either – and we have to move on. Mary is right to be worried with the kids first. We have to do something with them, and fast. There are no enough supplies for everybody, not for long. And those injured kids will make us slow. I love my dad, but for nothing I would go back home. Nothing. One does not try to make my choices for myself. At last the kids can show us how to get out of here.

"It seems you already have a codename." Said me Ashley one day, while we stopped to rest. There were a lot of those moments now. The kids did not walk much, we have to always look for more food and medicines… So we ended walking like a third we used to walk by ourselves. At least the forest would not hold us here anymore. We started believing that we are no longer lost as we were.

"Codenames?"

"Listen what the kids are talking, Belle. They talk like we saved their lives as we were superheroes. We will make it"

That day one I stopped to make monologues on my mind to listen those children carefully. They called me BEAST! In front of me, right to me, they call me Miss Belle or Lady Belle, but when they think I am not listening or pretend to not know I am listening, they called me Miss Beast. Like "Hey, which one you like the most?"

"Unh… I don't know. The Cinder lady is pretty nice, but Miss Beast is the best! See how she almost beheaded that guard?!" To be honest, I just hit the guy in his neck, trying to hit a vein. I am a tender girl who never had a knife in her hands, only medicine books and all they say the neck and tights veins runs a lot of blood. So I tried to cut in the right place the faster and deepest I could, but BEAST? It was quite messy, that was true. Blood ran everywhere and Mary started screaming. I got really dirty. However, I do not deserve such a nickname.

Luckily, my worst wound was a cut on my hip and on my trunk of when the guard tried to draw his sword – of course, I took it for myself. It hurts sometimes, but nothing too painful to stop hunting – putting traps to rabbits and those small animals sort of hunting – or healing the kids or any of my duties, better a nickname than be dead…. I will ask Mary to stop them.

* * *

They think I am the weakest… I know it. I can see it when I look at Mary or Belle. They think they have to be strong for me or I will break, but I swear I will not. I was not prepared, that is all. I knew nothing about where to cut or self-defense or anything. I don't know if Mary knows about… but she made it better than me.

Belle just cut the guys throat like it was chicken. Blood flood everywhere. The more I look, more the fear grown on me. I tried to fight, but I found myself quit useless trying to hit the guard so I gave a quick look to the hag and she was stopped, screaming, looking lost. So I made myself useful and went to free the kids. That moment I didn't feel any of my arm's wounds… A Lot of light cuts from when I tried to be helpful and hit him.

She tried to escape, the hag, but the kids and I tied her, took her back home and locked her in the oven. She fought a lot, shacking, kicking, jumping to free herself, but we let her tied. When she fought to fit in the oven I got a coat of cinder over the blood and hurt my forehead. We took some food and let her there. I could not deal with more blood in my hands, I've already felt dirty enough. Too much for a first time.

I quite forgot it while I work with the kids. I run the place, you know? Nothing here works without me. But, in my sleep, the empty eyes of the hag stares me and chases me while I am covered and blood and cinder. I tried to get cleaned in the middle of the fight. I stop fighting to get myself cleaned, but I can't. That scares me to death. Then I wake up. And Belle and Mary are looking at me, worried. I just need more time to deal with it.

And, besides that, I could never be happier. I am a useful person who saved eight kids from being enslaved, I have two combative friends to look my back and I finally was able to change my life and get my freedom. There is no much left to leave this woods according to Gretel, a sun tanned girl with golden hair about 12 years. Apparently her father lost them in the woods. "I hope he lost us." Said her.

"I hope that, too. But if he can't be with you… When we calm down and find a place, you can come with us. Just the girls fighting and living like…. Like…"

"Like what?"

"I forgot the name… It was a-something. I will ask Belle later."

"Lady Beast?" – Gretel eyes opened wildly.

"Lady Beast?!"

"Yeah! We did not know your names… So we made nicks, she is Beast and you are Cinder Lady." She rapidly adds "Everyone calls you that. I never though someone that small could be that strong! It was like that werewolf stories that a fragile girls turns to a big bad wolf." Than she stopped talking for a while. "Please don't tell her that…"

"I will not tell that were you, but it will be really funny to see her face when I tell her" I told, and Belle kept shocked and grumped like a week about how was better be a beast and survive, why the kids would thought it about her, about Mary doing something to stop it…but it was quite late. All the kids called us like that and I saw myself plenty of times answering to "Cinder Lady".

Gretel helped us a lot. Mary realized that we could not go in town. It would be a lot of disturbance and people would get emotional and…

"They would find us…" I finished.

"It will be not this time, Ash." Belle put her arm over my shoulder trying to cheer me up. "And just because I needed some time by myself a time to crawl in a bathtub."

We just get what was need and went on the road this time. Not wanting to be lost again. I can badly imagine how we would go out if we got lost in the woods again. Apparently we were over a week from were we are from.

"They said we have to take care of ourselves because of the wolf. A giant wolf that killed thousands of people and leads a dangerous pack. Do you believe it?" asked Belle.

"They would not say it for nothing. I just hope we are safe enough walking on the road. Can it be just thieves?" I wondered.

"Just thieves…? Ash, you pretty brave thing that will hunt thieves and lock them!"

"Stop mocking me, Belle!"

Snow was left a few steps back. She turned to the back of the road and stared, waited…

"What happened, Snow?" I asked.

"Shh… Listen. It sounds like a wolf"


	3. Abandoned Castle

On a tower of an abandoned castle there are two pairs of eyes looking down the yard. A stone way from the gates to the castle doors surrounded by bushes of roses, some apple trees and broken angels, which ended looking quite demoniac. On the gates, three scared ladies wondering if they would go in or try the terrors outside. They probably had heard of the wolfs. It is full moon, it is quite expected.

"Look! Look, your ball of fat! There are girls on the gates! GIRLS!"

"And what, Lumière?"

Lumière turned to Horloge. "Are you getting stupid while ages?" His metal arms and candles hands shakes nervously "You just can't be that absurd! We are magical things left alone since ever and you can't thing what three girls on our door can manage?"

"I know what… but that will not happen like that. You are dreaming too much, Lumière. You got crazy while aged. I'm leaving before you take me in this madness!" And jumped to table they were, to the couch next and then to floor, and there to the door.

"Go! We will turn humans again, and you will see. Master will be happy." Screamed Lumière hurt. "Or at least we will have company…" muttered then to himself. Lumière, however, was not one that left himself sad for long. So he put in his mind some brighter thoughts. The girls would arrive in minutes and everything was all dust and dirty. Clean team should be called, and cooks, and when the castle was bright like it used to be, they could call Master back. He would fall in love and the course would be broken! Or Master would be nicer and turn them to humans…

Is that much to want to be human again? To see everyone happy and the way they mean to be? To not live this happy half eternal life?! And yet they – the castle servants – did not blame Master… It was his fault that they ended as stupid household goods, but they lived with him for ages and knew how lonely he felts and how they were one of few things that made him not completely and utterly lonely. He used to snivel a lot about not being his fault. We imagined that it was about his son, the one he had lost.

Master did not stay much at home. And when he did, was not for long. Some times there were visitors too. A kind ginger man, a scary one with a big hat and, long time ago, a highborn woman.

Lumière placed himself in a side table close to the door. The guests would appreciate some light when they come in.

"It is such a heavy door." Complained the brunette. "There is anyone?" And the castle answered "anyone… anyone…anyone…" She laughs. "Eco! It is completely abandoned!" And left her bags on the floor. The others followed the brunette.

"Why leave such a place by itself like that?" asked the black-haired pixie. "It is a pity." The blonde one just looked all around. Measuring the hall. Just then I remember to turn my candles on. Then she found me. "Look, It can't be abandoned there is light here!"

"Can imagine this place in better days?" The other two were too distracted figuring out better days of my master's house.

"Look! Light!" Showed the blonde.

"Perfect Ash! You have light!" No one cared where that light came from. "Let's explore!" said the pixie. Then I had to offer myself as a guide.

"Shall we go, then? I, Lumière, will be very pleased to help you in any circumstance." They looked around looking for me. "Mesdemoiselles! My Ladies! The chandelier!" Then the blonde one let me fall. This is not nice.

"Excuse moi, I am Lumière, and I will be your guide. I was assigned to take care of your needs and guide you in tour, if you wanted so." She picked me up.

"I am sorry for letting you fall. I am Ashley." And smiled. "And those are Mary and Belle."

"Nice to meet you, sir" said Mary, the pixie one.

"You can tell about everything on the castle?" asked Belle.

"I can. I leave here as far as I can remember."

"And why is it abandoned? How long anyone live here?" asked the pixie.

"My master spends so many time far from home that we, the staff, felt abandoned as the place and started to remiss. His rooms are always clean, but the others… Why cook and clean if nobody is here? If pieces is all that lasts? We are just things now. There is no problem to live in the dirty… Doves, cats, dogs and rats is the only being to make us company."

"That is so sad" said the pixie. Horloge came to glance at them. That…

"Have you introduced yourself to our guests, Horloge, mon ami? Or are you acting like a douchebag and hiding yourself?"

"I am not a douchebag, you are an exhibitionist. Good evening, Mesdemoiselles, I am Horloge. And I am here to make your standing the most pleasure experience."

"You are a clock! Then you must be really orderly. That's make a lot of sense! Monsieur, I am Belle. The one with Lumière is Ashley, and the pixie lady is Mary. We are delighted to stay here."

"The staff feels the same. I've hear you are going to explore, I'll join you them. And Mrs. Potts asked me to say the meal will be delivered at 8."

"At 8 will be" said the pixie "Let we start the touring, so"

There are no much to show in the hall. Just the round table with jar(?) with dead flowers. The next rooms are a more pleasant ones. Master are used to keep a lot of mementos of his trips, toys, cups, "… and there is the gifts his visitors bring. Once it was a globe made of glass. And there is a massive library…"

"A library? Can we go there?" asked Belle.

"It is a little messy, when we clean it properly… the I will show you."

"Not wanting to interrupt, but how long you will stay?"

"Horloge, don't be rude!"

"I am not. Just wanting to know how long we will have to be prepared. It would be shameful not have groceries enough or to have the rooms properly cleaned!"

"You can't say he is wrong, monsieur Lumière…" agreed Ashley.

"May I advice you, those are dangerous ways in the full moon. We ask you to stay at least a week." Asked Horloge.

"A week? What do you think, Mary?"

"A week or two would be perfect to rest and become human. I'm like a mess. It would be like a days in a spa!" shoots Ashley.

"It would be great to menstruate peacefully. Two weeks and we will be brand new" A week would be great… but two would be perfect to master comes back and find them. The plan could not work better. Lumière was really thanked to Horloge for helping.

"How you find us?" asked Horloge

"I had heard a hawl. We were tired of walking to nowhere. There is pms, double pms to take and tiredness. We just don't have a proper bath for…"

"About four months" completed Belle.

"Four months. The dirty became part of my inner self. So, we agreed that we would stop to rest in the first proper place we find. You are not far from town, just a few hours walking, why nobody comes here?" As hosts, I did not feel that was proper to ask them why no stay in town… It would be extremely rude.

"Our master is a recluse one. He is not the kind type of person. And sometimes it is quite difficult to deal with him…"

"And even being difficult, you seem to like him a lot, monsieur Lumière." Said Ashley

"We do. Master has his reasons. And it is enough to us. However, we are used to his bad humours."

"He has a name? Your master?" asked Mary

"His name is not mentioned for years and I highly doubt that anyone but us would know him by that. He is Master Spinner and is the name everyone around call him. That is what can be said for now" It was a bad answer, I know. I should be more polite, but I not feel allowed to tell much about my Master. I don't believe he has a good reputation outside those walls. I don't want to scare the girls. Not when they seem so scared, when they choose to rest on a scary and cursed place than safely in town. Not when they might be the hope to our curse.

"May we go back to eat?" Horloge was trying to break the silence of Lumière's answer.

"Is already 8?"

"It is not, Lady Mary, but there's just the bedrooms left and the library. We can see the yard, but only in daylight. Library, we agreed, will be cleaned properly before used. So, dinner is what lasts." Observes Horloge.

"Dinner, then. I am starving." But Belle's attention was captive by hallway. It was cleaned and quite bright, far the opposite of the other rooms. It is probably Master's rooms. It made her curious about who he is. Her imagination was already far picturing about him and remembering someone alike from the books she had read. So, yeah, dinner.

They followed Lumière downstairs at the dinning room. Another room that Master filled with all sort of trinkets and mementos and a large table in the middle.

"Mesdemoiselles, this is Mrs. Potts." And I showed the teapot.

"Nice to meet you, girls."

They all sat, but Belle looked all around wanting to explore.

"I was just finishing to make the table. How is your travel?"

"Fine." Answered Ashley to Mrs. Potts. "Actually, we had some surprises in our way, like those wolfs outside."

"Thanks gods I've heard it. It quite close from town. It does not scare those people away?"

"The wolfs are not from here, they come sometimes and usually in full moon. People lock themselves at home and then, are safe."

"Sounds like a bad way to live." Said Ashley. She turns her head down.

"But we can always change our fate, Ash. Don't forget it. We did it, you did it… Is there a bigger prove that anyone can change their destiny?" said Mary.

"I presume you had a hard departure?" asked Mrs. Potts.

"We ran away from home. I think there is no danger in telling you that, since you are acting so kind to us." Said Belle. "I wonder if they are chasing us."

"I believe it is rather likely."

"Why? I don't see a reason to not let us go!" pointed Ashley.

"Regina." Mary looked at us to explain. "My stepmother. I did something to her, and she didn't hit me back… I am avoiding it, but now I can't rest, because I know she will make her moves."

"Rest yourselves." Interrupt Lumière. "You are safe here. We will send the crows after news and give it to you."

"Thank you, monsieur"

Some days after, it broke my heart to tell the pretty Mary that her father was dead, and the funeral would be a few days further. They probably want to go back to Mary see her father one last time. The girls will be again in danger, all by themselves in the woods. At merce of the queen. And they would left us, and we will be alone again. Alone and cursed.

They not even saw the library.


End file.
